Though the title would make you believe otherwise, I am Omega hardly resembles I am Legend or Omega Man. More importantly, it is nothing like Richard Matheson's short story proving once again that "the book is better".
What may come as a surprise is I am Omega isn't terrible. Considering that it was released straight to video a month before Will Smith's I am Legend, it is technically the 3rd attempt at the subject. Produced by The Asylum who have also released such hits as Snakes on a Train, The Da Vinci Treasure and Transmorphers, one would think this is nothing more than a Mel Brook's style send up of the subject. Are you listening Mel? I am Legend in Tights is waiting.
Mark Dacascos stars as our hero, Renchard, who has spent a little too much time living in isolation after a plague has turned the population into zombies. When not fighting off zombies, Renchard spends his day fortifying his flimsy compound, practicing his karate skills, popping pills Michael Jackson style and checking his email. It's good to know that when the zombie apocalypse occurs, we will still have wi-fi.
The first half of the movie is spent getting to know Renchard's world and it is surprisingly well executed. Dacascos does a decent job of playing a mentally anguished man struggling with loss... and zombies. As in Omega Man, Renchard sets out to find other humans and hopefully discover the source of the zombies. He also sets up timed explosives in the city's underground. I mean, if you have a robust supply of explosives, why not use them?
No. I don't want you to wash my windshield.
The zombies themselves resemble those found in Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2 which is far and above an improvement on the laughable CGI zombies in Will Smith's I am Legend. Yes. I blame Will Smith for that piece of crap.
After a promising beginning, the movie takes a sharp turn at ridiculous and predictable. Renchard is contacted via web cam by a woman in distress. A web cam? From a desolate hide out? But I digress, a couple over the top renegade US Marine mercenaries find his compound and ask him to join the cause. Renchard turns down the offer so they use the age old pursuasion technique of blowing up Renchard's compound. Obviously the cost of blowing up a house or a model was not in the budget so the massive explosion takes place entirely off screen. But just imagine it. Wow. Impressive.
The rest of the movie continues to go down hill. Boring car chases. Predictable plot twists. It's all there. What is important to know is like Omega Man and I am Legend, the movie's climax is nothing like Richard Matheson's book.
In the end, I am Omega is simply a below-average horror/action movie based on a fantastic book. Why is it the closest we have come to a real film adaption of I am Legend is Vincent Price's The Last Man on Earth? Who knows. We are left to ask again - Mel? Mr. Brooks? It's your turn.